Cliff Drysdale
1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis announcer.
Biography
Born Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Drysdale in Nelspruit (today known as Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa) on May 26, 1941 and completed his high school at Grey High School, Port Elizabeth.[5]
Drysdale won the singles title at the Dutch Open in 1963 and 1964. In 1965, he reached the singles final of the 1965 U. S. Championships[6] and he won the singles title at the German Championships. He defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round of the first US Open in 1968. During his Open-era career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles, including the 1972 US Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor.[7] He was a pioneer of the two-handed backhand shot, which he used to great effect during his playing career.
Drysdale was included among the Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis group.[8] He became president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), an association that Drysdale had formed in 1972 with Jack Kramer and Donald Dell.[4][9]
Following retirement, Drysdale became a naturalized American citizen. He has been a tennis commentator for ESPN since the network's inception in 1979.[10] In 1998, the USTA awarded Drysdale the William M. Johnston award for his contribution to men's tennis.[11] In 2013, he was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[12]
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1965 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Manuel Santana | 2–6, 9–7, 5–7, 1–6 |
Doubles: 1 (1 title)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1972 | US Open | Grass | Roger Taylor | Owen Davidson John Newcombe | 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 6–3 |
Grand Prix Championship Series finals
Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1971 | Boston WCT | Hard | Ken Rosewall | 4–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
Loss | 1972 | Las Vegas | Hard | John Newcombe | 3–6, 4–6 |
Open Era finals
Singles (5 titles)
Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1. | Jul 1968 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Tom Okker | 6–3, 6–3, 6–0 |
Win | 2. | Apr 1971 | Miami WCT, U. S. | Hard | Rod Laver | 6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
Win | 3. | May 1971 | Brussels, Belgium | Clay | Ilie Năstase | 6–0, 6–1, 7–5 |
Win | 4. | Mar 1974 | Miami WCT (2) | Hard | Tom Gorman | 6–4, 7–5 |
Win | 5. | Jan 1978 | Baltimore, U. S. | Carpet (i) | Tom Gorman | 7–5, 6–3 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | SR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 |
French Open | 1R | 2R | QF | SF | SF | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | |
Wimbledon | 1R | 1R | 2R | SF | SF | 4R | 3R | QF | 3R | 1R | A | A | 3R | A | 2R | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 15 | |
US Open | 3R | 2R | 3R | F | 3R | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | A | 4R | 3R | A | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 14 | |
Strike rate | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 37 |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
References
- ^ Cliff Drysdale partners
- ^ "Cliff Drysdale: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "Cliff Drysdale: Career tournament results". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ a b United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
- ^ "Cliff Drysdale - ESAT". esat.sun.ac.za. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. p. 140. OCLC 172306.
- ^ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins history of tennis : an authoritative encyclopedia and record book (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 478. ISBN 9780942257700.
- ^ Wind, Herbert Warren (1979). Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s (1. ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 65–70. ISBN 0525111409.
- ^ "Gear Talk: Q&A with Cliff Drysdale". Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
- ^ "Cliff Drysdale".
- ^ "The William M. Johnston Award". USTA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
- ^ "Hingis elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame". ITF Tennis. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
External links
- Cliff Drysdale at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Cliff Drysdale at the International Tennis Federation
- Cliff Drysdale at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
- Cliff Drysdale at IMDb
- Biography and images of Cliff on the Cliff Drysdale site
- Red Ledges Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy in Utah
- ESPN's Cliff Drysdale to emcee "Legends Ball"
- Cliff Drysdale ESPN Bio
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